Finally I can write about two of my favourite things. This owl was found making a home in a carrier-borne fighter aircraft. Anyway, the sailors who found him named him FOD (or Foreign Object Damage to non-propeller-heads) and nursed him back to health before releasing him into the wild. Awwww. Choice quote from the original article:
If this owl was hiding in a cockpit while a jet was on the catapult. It could possibly bring a jet down if the pilot freaks out because an owl is flying around in his cockpit
Your scope of influence has a lot to answer for, Mr. Cruise.
I like this photographers website very much. Some simple, very clinical photographs of some rather boring industrial things. However, the sharpness and colours make for some pretty pictures. I think that many shots from the ‘Garages’ and ‘Landings’ (time-lapse taken at the end of a runway) sets would make brilliant comptuer wallpapers.
A grassroots movement are pushing to rename a water treatment plant in San Francisco after George W Bush. The Times reports that over 8,500 signatures have been collected; something that probably wouldn’t happen anywhere else in America but San Francisco. I think this would be a fitting tribute after the last 8 years, but I feel a little sorry for the sanitation workers. Perhaps a ceremonial pile of burning tires would be even more fitting? Still, best of luck to the aptly named Presidential memorial foundation who put it like this:
“On matters ranging from foreign relations to fiscal and environmental stewardship, no other president in American history has accomplished so much in such a short time, We believe this is an appropriate honour for a truly unique president.”
Coldplay (aka “Radiohead for bed-wetters”) are getting a lot of radio play. Too much. Even on ‘alternative music station’; BBC 6music, they pop-up a surprising amount. Like they were/are with the iPhone, the BBC are currently in a multi-media Coldplay-luvy blitz (although the ‘toys out of the pram’ moment that Chris Martin gave Radio 4 is pretty funny). We’re told repeatedly how big they are. They’re so big because we’re constantly told about them! It’s a vicious circle. With the new album, ‘Viva la Vida’ (aka “The beginners guide to raising your bittorrent ratio”) it’s just more evidence of ripping off others for fun and profit (mainly profit, actually).
Now indie band the Creaky Boards are claiming that they wuz robbed. Sure, this could just be coincidence and a bit of cheeky publicity grabbing from the ‘Boards, but remember this is Coldplay we’re talking about. This is the band responsible for ensuring that any time Kraftwurks gentle Computer Love is played, the younger members of the beige-Mondeo owning public cry, “isn’t this a Coldplay cover?”.
It’s not just melodic piracy either, it struck me that the current visual style Coldplay have recently adopted closely parallels that of teenage-angst mongers ‘My Chemical Romance’. I’m not the only one to notice this.
In short: Music by the numbers (lead by what the market deems profitable, as opposed to musical integrity) : Still tedious.
I’m tempted to buy this tee-shirt. It’s mainly true, but not as true as it should be sometimes. Of course I would say that, I work in design (well, technically). In fact, I could very well be lying. Design is certainly lying if it claims that it’s not using overusing common typefaces with solid block backgrounds as an easy way to create a strong visual identity. I’m looking at you, Vodafone and Channel 4 OD!
Up in Glasgow, this thing is called a ‘Munchy box’. Looking at the pictures, it seems to be all the food one might pick up after a night on the beer, but in a massive pile. Looking at the pictures is, for me, a combination of initial disgust followed by a little voice at the back of my head saying that actually, it could be quite tasty (that little voice is the one that says ‘lets go to the pub’).
We don’t have them down in Sheffield, at least I don’t think we do. If you know where I can buy one, then please don’t let me know. I can easily imagine tucking into one with an equally disgusting friend and then suffering the consequences the following morning, if not for the rest of my life.
The iPhone3g has just been announced, and it’s allegedly going to cost us $199. Interesting. I’m going to wait until the fight has died down and for now, stick with some old skool tech.
6music talked about this sure-fire hit film for what seemed like an hour this afternoon, so I’ve got to say something about this. I won’t be going to see it, because I’m not a woman and as such will not understand the imporant bonds between close female friends / what it’s like to whore yourself round a major urban conurbation (delete as applicable). Still, to get into the spirit of things I will fully endorse this site. Oh Jessica, you’re like a slightly more weathered version of British telly favourite, Billy Piper. Althought thinking about it, it’s less about the teeth and more about the elongated face. In fact that gives me an idea for a website that also has 50% dedicated to the best of all the animals.
After (naughtilly) having an older version for some time (2.x something, I don’t know… it’s been a while) I have finally updated to the latest Wordpress. Initially impressions: very impressive. That is, of course, if this actually gets posted at all.
Even a 4 year old knows that. Or so said NYUs Clay Shirky at the recent Web 2.0 Expo08 [blip.tv video]. He detailed how things are shifting away from passively watching television and into more interactive forms of media. He uses the example of the millions of hours of work that has gone into Wikipedia and other community-based wiki-like project by a great many people.
“Media that is targeted at you but does not include you may not be worth sitting still for.”
Shirky knows why we watch television. It’s because since WW2 we all have so much free time. Isn’t it better that we interact with something rather than just sit there and consume it? I think he’s right. Collectively, we watch far more adverts on TV than we do using brilliant collaborative projects such as Wikipedia. Has anyone watched television recently? 99% of it is rubbish. Getting involved with media is a lot more fun than an osmosis-like filtering of it into ourselves.
Still, regardless of this, Peep Show does start again tonight and I’ll definately be taking time out from the collaborative Web for that!
I used to love RTS games but ever since the Command and Conquer games turned into a rubbish pile of EA crap, I’ve not had many good ones to play with. It’s a good news Starcraft II is on the way. It looks good and effects heavy, but I’ve also got a feeling that all the units will be balanced perfectly, the AI tuned and the story interesting as well. Basically, it’ll be nothing like the new C&C games that seem to fail on all accounts.
The new Zerg got unveiled in a trailer shown recently in Korea (where else?) and they look especially foreboding. This could be the first RTS I’ll buy in a very long time.
The James Lavelle posse are on tour again. We went to see them in Sheffield and it wasn’t what we expected. There was less emphasis on the turntables and much more on the full rock band that basically drove the show. What we expected was more DJ Shadow, what we got was more 65daysofstatic. Guess we should have listened to the last album before we went to see the show. None of this is a complaint, however.
Things should move on. I liked Psyence Fiction, but I don’t want to see it again and again. The last UNKLE album; War Stories isn’t very ‘them’, but it stands well on it’s own and the show definitely reflected this. One thing that has stayed constant is Lavelle’s leaning towards collaborations. What made the 1st album great was that they got people like Mike D and Thom Yorke involved and the new album has guest appearances by people like Josh Homme and one of my personal favorites; the Duke Spirit. I heard that the London show featured appearances by Ian Brown, Badly Drawn Boy and others. Up in Sheffield of course, we didn’t have such treats. The stand-in vocalist was good, but we were left wanting Ian Brown, I think. Still, a good show and the album is worth checking just as long as you’re not expecting another Never, Never Land.
I never found Garfield that funny. But then we’re on the 59862145th strip now and it’s pretty hard to think of something new isn’t it? People have taken to photoshopping the cat out of the strip, and now they appear to be a look into the mind of a man on the edge, a wildly delusional schizophrenic. Much, much better.
...to devolute.net. This is the webpage of Ian Parr; a UK based web designer.
About me
I enjoy the ramblings of MES, the color blue and people who move their hands around too much when they talk. I read the Guardian, go to gigs and play music on my record player. My interests include design and the comedy of Armando Iannucci.
Visit the about page to find more about me and this page or the work section to view a growing portfolio.
The James Lavelle posse are 
