Monday, 11 June 2007
coffee (tables) anyone?
Remember those Atari pub games, built into the top of tables? Well, now its moved a whole stage further, with prototype systems like the reacTable and the Popular Mechanics coffee table project at Microsoft looking at ways to use surfaces as part of the computing model. There's a short video about this, one showing a musical instrument and the second illustrating how you can put, say, a camera down on a table and the photos in it pop out onto the glass surface. they can be scaled and manipulated and then shuffled into, say, a mobile phone.
The musical instrument is real but the rest of the technology is really a teaser prototype at the moment, but does have interesting possibilities, somewhat like the display technology used in films like Artificial Intelligence.
Saturday, 9 June 2007
eg vil pakka fjölskyl dunni minni
Not for everyone, but I found myself applauding the television late last night. I was watching Björk Gudmundsdottir on Jules Holland’s “Later” show as she performed some tracks from her recent album “Volta”, which I have been playing in the car over the last couple of weeks. So engrossing that I felt I was in the concert.
The staging included her Icelandic all-female brass section, dressed in colourful clothing evocative of a major celebration. The tracks played were “Earth Intruders” and “Declare Independence” from the album as well as “The Anchor Song”, which she sang in Icelandic.
Björk inhabited the stage with a pixie like presence along with tracks fusing techno rave rhythm, world music beat and her own distinctive singing style. The album has more treats; some links with older work such as the sounds of the sea in a foghorn inspired interlude on one of the tracks.
Sublime eccentricity.
Friday, 8 June 2007
deckchair art
There has been some progress in the G8 talks, although some of this is re-iteration of the 2005 G8 Gleneagles commitments. The Leaders have pledged to spend some $60bn on health improvements for Africa, with half from the USA. This is a little bit of a shell game though, because quite a lot of this money had been previously pledged in Gleneagles ($50bn) and there have been delays in getting the money allocated.
Unfortunately US President Bush missed the first few hours of Friday's business, suffering from a stomach complaint. He managed some other topics covering "further measures" against Iran if Tehran failed to stop its uranium enrichment programme and further action against Sudan if Khartoum failed to support international efforts to end the conflict in Darfur. Also a warning to North Korea to stop testing nuclear-capable missiles and abandon all nuclear programmes.
If Angela Merkal's original agenda was mainly Africa and Climate then it comes as some re-assertion of what was said two years ago. The other topics were not part of the prime-time menu. Tony Blair seems to be saying "immense progress" has been made. Specifically, 18 countries have had their debts written off, which is clearly positive progress.
On the emissions though, we now have a debate about what to do to replace the Kyoto protocol with something else, against a target for suggested 50% reduction by the somewhat distant 2050.
Lets hope this is not just re-arranging deckchairs.
i want candy
I see that Channel Four has been in the news a lot over the last few days. First the Diana broadcast and now a racism incident in Big Brother, after something similar though more vitriolic happened a year ago.I have not been watching this series although, probably like many others, I tuned in last night when the scene was broadcast. Sure enough one of the housemates said something rather unpleasant to another, although the tone of the comment was perhaps naively ingrained rather than outwardly hostile, compared with the events of a year ago. In any event the situation created much discussion within the house and within hours broadcasters had swooped on the the housemate who left in a 3am eviction.
So Channel Four have had another TV feast and publicity, this time taking a rapid righteous stance against unacceptable language. And meantime, Big Brother gets more like 'Willy Wonka's Candy Factory' every day.
face
I see some have spotted that rashbre central is also on facebook. I originally set up facebook as a placeholder and have just added last.fm, flickr and rashbre central feeds as well as a few other amusements to it. So, if you are facebook user, do drop by, click me as a friend and we'll gradually all link together.Otherwise, there's a few normal posts below to browse...
Thursday, 7 June 2007
G8
Today the leaders of the most powerful industrialised countries have got together in Heiligendamm, Germany, on the Baltic coast. So far the television news seems to be mainly around the various photoshoots of leaders, their spouses and about the protestors around the edge of the site, which is reached by steam railway.
The main purpose for the Angela Merkel hosted event is supposed to be the influence these leaders can have upon matters such as global poverty (through debt relief) and global warming. Indeed, today there's been some discussions about plans to halve carbon emissions by 2050, although whether 43 years is really an accelerated pace is a moot point.
Non Kyoto protocol US President Bush came to the summit refusing to agree to targets to reduce greenhouse gases but he has made a proposal for a separate meeting of the world’s top emitters for discussions on ways of combating global warming. Why talk about it now when everyone's together, when he can host a separate meeting on his ranch in Texas?
Another early reported topics seems to be about whether Russia's Mr Putin is going share an Azerbadjani radar station with the US and whether this means Mr Bush won't need to put his new anti-missile missile systems in Europe. Mr Putin is saying that he won't put missile systems targeted at Europe on his borders if the USA doesn't create a new missile shield in Europe. Somehow this all seems a long way from talking about global poverty and warmng.
A protest related to this summit occurred a few days ago on the river bank opposite the Houses of Parliament in London. The essence was a reminder of the G8's previous and partially unfulfilled promises on debt relief. The protestors (including Midge Ure and Annie Lennox, in the photo) simply used alarm clocks timed to ring at two thirty pm, as a 'wake up call' to the G8 to remember the original purpose and promises of the meeting.
Wednesday, 6 June 2007
nothing to see here - move along
There's a fuss about the Channel 4 programme about the Diana car crash ten years ago. Clarence House represent the sons Harry and William and say it should not have been shown without further edits.
The thing I find more shocking is that the inquest from the sad event is still open after some ten years. How is it that the major Establishment figures involved are unable to ensure that such a high profile situation gets resolved?
I pick a few points from the Lord Stevens inquiry which are also on the BBC's own web-site.
There was contact between the Mercedes carrying the princess and a white Fiat Uno (never found?) shortly before the crash. Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes, had alcohol levels twice the British drink-drive limit at the time of the crash. There was no evidence to support claims the security services were involved in any way in Princess Diana's death.
A ring had been bought by Dodi Al Fayed. A note apparently written by the princess outlines fears the Prince of Wales wanted to clear the way to marry a woman not named in the report. The woman was not Camilla, the report said. Prince Charles told the inquiry he did not know why his ex-wife wrote the letter and never discussed it with her.
As Sir Humphrey would say, "truth is a matter of perspective".
The thing I find more shocking is that the inquest from the sad event is still open after some ten years. How is it that the major Establishment figures involved are unable to ensure that such a high profile situation gets resolved?
I pick a few points from the Lord Stevens inquiry which are also on the BBC's own web-site.
There was contact between the Mercedes carrying the princess and a white Fiat Uno (never found?) shortly before the crash. Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes, had alcohol levels twice the British drink-drive limit at the time of the crash. There was no evidence to support claims the security services were involved in any way in Princess Diana's death.
A ring had been bought by Dodi Al Fayed. A note apparently written by the princess outlines fears the Prince of Wales wanted to clear the way to marry a woman not named in the report. The woman was not Camilla, the report said. Prince Charles told the inquiry he did not know why his ex-wife wrote the letter and never discussed it with her.
As Sir Humphrey would say, "truth is a matter of perspective".
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
affrontal logo to me
Well, they revealed the £400,000 Olympic Committee London 2012 logo and its pink fuzzy felt shapes as edgy, punky and modern. In a Rorschach test this picture has been known to yield a certain cartoon depiction of something best left to the imagination on this site. Or perhaps thats just me.
...Who needs Photoshop CS for artwork when five minutes with 1983's Paintbrush.exe can produce the above? Nice work, if you can get it. Below, Here's the old temporary logo, by way of a comparison. It sort of does what it says on the package.
So my rejection suggestions include sign a petiition, ask Mark Thomas to add it to the 1 person McDemos at Westminster, or maybe add a new petition to the UK government petition web-site.
Monday, 4 June 2007
Wonderful Copenhagen
My hotel in Copenhagen is very central, just a short walk from the famous Tivoli Gardens. As I've been mainly in meetings and generally industrious, it hasn't given much time for sightseeing, although I have both worked and visted Copenhagen before as a tourist. A top place to visit during most peoples' time in Copenhagen, is the Tivoli Gardens and I'm pleased to say we'd arranged to meet in there in the evening for a dinner in the rather pleasant surroundings of Divan 2, which is one of the oldest restaurants in the Gardens.
A highly enjoyable evening and then exit from the restaurant into the twinkling lights of the still orientally themed garden, with many locals and visitors enjoying the late evening in a combination of restaurants, cafes and amusements.
Sunday, 3 June 2007
normal service is resumed
I suppose I should have loaded a test card or similar whilst I have been travelling and not able to post to the blog. Normal service should resume as well as a few back posts covering a few recent excursions.
I'm in Copenhagen for the next few days, but I think there will be some bandwith too. Meantime, my back posts will cover some time spent in Cornwall (West of England - some claim it is a separate country) and before that a few days in Washington.
2012 London Olympics Brand
[THIS LOGO SPACE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]
An interesting dilemma that the new Olympics Branding for 2012 London is to be unveiled tomorrow.
Unfortunately, the Committee responsible has already published a series of downloads available explaining why if you are not a designated interest, then you cannot display the logo.
I can understand not illicitly selling merchandise with the logo, or making unauthorised commercial gain from its use, but it does seem strange that the instructions state: You can support the 2012 Games by not engaging in the unauthorised use of the Games' Marks or purchasing unauthorised merchandise.
In the same document I am told that I could, however, use the National Lottery Scratch cards as a way to show support.
An interesting dilemma that the new Olympics Branding for 2012 London is to be unveiled tomorrow.
Unfortunately, the Committee responsible has already published a series of downloads available explaining why if you are not a designated interest, then you cannot display the logo.
I can understand not illicitly selling merchandise with the logo, or making unauthorised commercial gain from its use, but it does seem strange that the instructions state: You can support the 2012 Games by not engaging in the unauthorised use of the Games' Marks or purchasing unauthorised merchandise.
In the same document I am told that I could, however, use the National Lottery Scratch cards as a way to show support.
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