Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Sir David Attenborough Quote of the Day
I know of three people who know that Emmylou Harris is the greatest female singer since Ella Fitzgerald — me, a bloke in Wallington and, to my amazement, David Attenborough. “Yes, yes,” he says, in that breathy, gorilla-charming voice, “absolutely.” He even knows and loves her performance of Love Hurts with Gram Parsons. Attenborough is a national institution, of course, but cool also? Awestruck, I ask him a question I thought I’d never ask: “What’s on your iPod?”
“Every major classical work since Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 — it’s a 45-gig iPod — all Beethoven symphonies, all Mahler and, yes, yes, Emmylou Harris.”
Out in the field, as he so often is, he spends the nights in tents listening to music. Before iPods changed everything, he took CDs, always including some demanding music he had never heard — say, Janacek quartets. In the darkness, he would reach for a CD and put it on, not knowing what it was. If he couldn’t stand what he heard, he would grope for another. But he allowed himself to do this only twice. The rule was that he must listen to the third CD. “I had to sit through it, that had to be it. It was a little game.”
Read the rest of this awesome interview here.
Friday, 25 April 2008
Shawnimal's Wee Ninja and the Moustachios
"Shawnimals was started as a hobby 2001 with one simple goal – to bring people together by way of strange yet cute artist-made stuffed creatures and other fun items. It's what Shawnimals was founded on, and now years later as a full-fledged company, it's what we believe in today. Now Shawnimals is breaking into video games, comic books, apparel, collectible vinyls, lifestyle accessories and more!" - Shawn Smith
I saw these guy's stuff when I was in America and it's all really awesome... Particularly the moustachios and the wee ninja.
You can find all kinds of sweet downloads (desktops, buddy icons...) and merchandise on the Shawnimals site.
SotC scale diagram
Click for bigger.
This can be found in the official SotC artbook. I wish they'd make posters of it...
Dinosaur Comics
There are plenty more where this one came from here.
This was posted by Mat in spirit.
The Independant's 'Green List'
The Independent's recent Green list 2007 promised to reveal who was setting the agenda on environmental issues, writes Rachel Dixon. Unfortunately, it didn't tell us much we didn't already know. Rather predictably, as publication coincided with Live Earth, Al Gore was number one, followed by unlikely environmentalist Arnold Schwarzenegger. More interesting was Wangari Maathai's inclusion in third place - although she was just one of just seven women in a list of 25 people.
On the plus side, the list was a real mixed bag, with campaigners and movers and shakers from the arts ranking alongside scientists, politicians and businessmen. This may be an encouraging sign, suggesting that green issues are starting to be tackled across wider society, rather than remaining the preserve of niche groups.
On the down side, it was geographically limited, with only one representative of Africa, and one each from China and India. The vast majority of those named came from Britain or the United States. As the Independent itself said, climate change is the most important global issue we face, so surely we should acknowledge the role of non-western figures in the fight? One example that springs to mind is Dai Qing, the Chinese anti-dam campaigner, who was included in the Environment Agency's list of the 100 greatest eco-heroes of all time. There must be many more individuals who deserve recognition.
So, who would you add to the list - and who's inclusion do you disagree with? Perhaps you don't think Al Gore deserves the top spot, in light of Live Earth's carbon footprint, not to mention his own massive household energy consumption. Or maybe we're all too obsessed with celebrity, and we shouldn't be focusing on individuals at all. A list of the greenest businesses or governments might shame the rest into action.
The top 10:1. Al Gore
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
3. Wangari Maathai
4. Sir Nicholas Stern
5. David Attenborough <-------------------------- !
6. Simran Sethi
7. Mark Lynas
8. Patrick Holden
9. Laurie David
10. Dr Carl Hodges
This is outrageous for obvious reasons. Story from here.
Sir David Attenborough Quote of the Day
SimonB: Have you any pets?Sir David Attenborough: When my children were small we had all kinds of pets but now that I live by myself it is not possible to have a pet and still go away for several weeks on end on filming trips. So, to my regret I have no pets at the moment.
Steve: What is the most scared you have ever been while filming?
Sir David Attenborough: If you are not scared at any time you are going to get yourself into real trouble. I have been scared. My scariest moment has been malfunctioning of my diving equipment when I have been some 60 feet below the surface. I decided that I was not designed by mother nature to be down there.
Peloquin: Sir david, is the bird of paradise still one of your favorite animals?
Sir David Attenborough: There is not just one bird of paradise, there are 42 different species. They vary in size from a robin to a crow. They have the most dazzlingly feather decorations of any family and I am besotted by them.
Full interview here.
My set-up
This is my current set up.
It consists of a laptop (w/Reason, Reaktor and a midi keyboard simulator), a Casiotone keyboard, Clive's mixer, Mat's distortion pedal, my Kaoss pad mini, Clive's 'red box' (circuit bent fun), my Nintendo DS w/ Electroplankton and my little lamp.
Shadow of the Colossus: One Coin Grande Figure Collection
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
I've been trying to get this manga for some time but every shop I've seen it in seems to have every volume but #1. It sounds awesome: "Your body is their business! Five young students at a Buddhist university, three guys and two girls, find little call for their job skills in today's Tokyo . . . among the living, that is! But all that stuff in college they were told would never pay off-you know, channeling, dowsing, ESP-gives them a direct line to the dead . . . the dead who are still trapped in their corpses and can't move on to the next reincarnation.
The five form the Kurosagi ("Black Heron?-their ominous bird logo) Corpse Delivery Service: whether suicide, murder, accident, or illness, they'll carry your body wherever it needs to go to free your soul! The kids from Kurosagi can smell a customer a mile away-it's a good thing one of the girls majored in embalming!"
Let me know if you see it Lou-Lou!
Thursday, 24 April 2008
The Brick Testament.com
"The Brick Testament is the largest, most comprehensive illustrated Bible in the world with over 3,600 illustrations that retell more than 300 stories from The Bible.Launched first as a website in 2001, then as a published book series in 2003, The Brick Testament project is an ongoing one-man labor of love, constructed and photographed entirely by The Rev. Brendan Powell Smith."
Work your way through the wonders of religio-lego art here.
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Best. invention. ever.
Refined Feline have all sorts of posh kitty toys, but this one really stood out. I need one right now!
Censoring Sir David
When the Evangelische Omroep (Evangelical Broadcasting) network showed his flagship natural history series The Life of Mammals, it made several alterations to the script to take out references to evolution, the age of the Earth and the evolutionary relationships between humans and apes. It even left out a whole episode on human evolution.Dutch biologists are livid. Dr Gerdien de Jong at the University of Utrecht has put together a petition asking the BBC - which made the series - to either prevent such tampering or force foreign broadcasters to make clear what changes have been made. So far, 300 Dutch scientists have signed.
Sir David seems pretty relaxed about it all. He is reported as saying he thought the changes were "fairly innocuous".
See full story and comments here.
Sorry it's a bit old...
Boycott: Iams and many more
Just thought I'd provide some info. for un-aware animal lovers and pet owners.
"For nearly 10 months in 2002 and early 2003, a PETA investigator went undercover at an Iams contract testing laboratory and discovered a dark and sordid secret beneath the wholesome image of the dog- and cat-food manufacturer: dogs gone crazy from intense confinement to barren steel cages and cement cells, dogs left piled on a filthy paint-chipped floor after having chunks of muscle hacked from their thighs; dogs surgically debarked; horribly sick dogs and cats languishing in their cages, neglected and left to suffer with no veterinary care.
Luckily, caring consumers know that advances in nutrition don’t have to come at the expense of animals in labs. Help PETA force Iams to end these painful and unnecessary tests, as many compassionate companies have already done. " - Iams cruelty.com
But it's not just Iams. All supermarket brands and the following corperations are also responsible for poor ethics and cruelty:
- Nestlé Purina/Friskies: Alpo, Bonio, Felix, Go Cat, Gourmet, Omega Complete, Proplan, Spillers, Vital Balance, Winalot.
- Pedigree, Masterfoods (Mars Inc): Bounce, Cesar, Chappie, Frolic, James Wellbeloved, Katkins, Kitekat, Pal, Pedigree Chum, Royal Canin, Sheba, Techni-cal (US & Canada), Whiskas. Pedigree also manufacture Thomas rabbit food and Trill bird food.
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
David Attenborough Quote of the Day
"I don't run a car, have never run a car. I could say that this is because I have this extremely tender environmentalist conscience, but the fact is I hate driving."
Stephen Hawkin calls for Moon and Mars colonies
Stephen Hawking called for a massive investment in establishing colonies on the Moon and Mars in a lecture in honour of NASA's 50th anniversary. He argued that the world should devote about 10 times as much as NASA's current budget – or 0.25% of the world's financial resources – to space.
The renowned University of Cambridge physicist has previously spoken in favour of colonising space as an insurance policy against the possibility of humanity being wiped out by catastrophes like nuclear war and climate change. He argues that humanity should eventually expand to other solar systems.
But in a speech in Washington, DC, US, delivered in honour of NASA's 50th anniversary in 2008, Hawking focused on near-term possibilities, backing the space agency's goals of returning astronauts to the Moon by 2020 and sending humans to Mars soon after that.
The Moon is a good place to start because it is "close by and relatively easy to reach", Hawking said. "The Moon could be a base for travel to the rest of the solar system," he added. Mars would be "the obvious next target", with its abundant supplies of frozen water, and the tantalising possibility that life may have been present there in the past.
Full article here.
Mapping climate change
click for bigger
"I just came across this world map by Worldmapper on the new BBC Green website. The map looks pretty distorted, because each country has been resized to show the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it is responsible for.
The map factors in emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which account for 98% of the greenhouse effect.
The countries that emit the most greenhouse gases are the United States, China, the Russian Federation and Japan. No surprises there. The UK doesn’t come off too well either. However, the most emissions per person are in Qatar: equivalent to 86 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Qatar has significant oil and gas reserves, and in 2002 was populated by 600,000 people. (In case you’re wondering Qatar is in the green section between a very skinny Africa, and India.)
Here’s how the world looks by land area, so you have a comparison:
What the BBC site doesn’t show, is another Worldmapper map - this one shows the world by carbon emissions decreases - an altogether different picture! Here the fatter the country, the bigger the decrease."
Story taken directly from here.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Friday, 18 April 2008
Chiho Aoshima
I just thought that I'd mention this amazing Japanese artist.
"Chiho Aoshima is a CG artist who creates her unique and extraordinary world through manipulation of Bezier curves, a feature of the computer software Adobe Illustrator. She constructs her works with such elements as bodily fluids, reptiles, insects, and old, concrete buildings. Chiho Aoshima's art works are audaciously enlarged and printed by heavy-duty printers, not only onto papers but also onto leather and plastic surfaces, giving her works the sense of transcendence of both art and illustration." - Chiho Aoshima.comSome examples of her work:
How the existence of the Gameboy Micro eluded me
In modern terms, I am relatively new to the world of gaming. I didn't have any consoles growing up and the nearest I got to gaming at home was 3D Movie Maker and The Oregon Trail on my Windows 95 PC.
Having recently aqcuired a Nintendo DS, then finding a Gamecube cheap on eBay and then being leant a PS2, suddenly I've gone into game overdrive. The likelihood of me getting excited and making myself sick has increased since I've been able to sit in my lounge and look around at all the many fun game options I now have. But it was Zelda: Minish Cap that started it all. The heady days of sharing a flat with my sister and spending hours every night huddled around the tiny screen of my nephew's GBA, absorbed in the wonderful new world of Zelda. That was only 5 years ago.
So it comes as little surprise I suppose that I had never heard of the Gameboy Micro. But why had none of my friends either? Most of them have been gaming since they were kids and have probably, between them, played on every console out there. But still - they hadn't heard of such a thing as a Gameboy Micro. And yet, here it is:
Mysterious...
