Month: January 2010

  • 3D

    This afternoon, I’ll be watching Arsenal v Man Utd in 3D. No – I’m not going to one of Sky’s un-named pubs which will be showing the game in 3D – instead I’ll be in the ground. But with Avatar number one at the box office, and large numbers of exhibitors at the recent CES…

  • A Prophet and Up In The Air

    What links these two films? Absolutely nothing, although both were showing in the Curzon Mayfair last week, I only saw A Prophet there. For better of for worse, I saw Up In The Air in my local Cineworld. They offer very different cinema going experiences, yet not at a colossal price differential. I’ll get onto…

  • The iYawn – In Case You Hadn’t Heard

    Apple as a company is incredibly skillful in the way it essentially manipulates the media surrounding the launch of one of its new products. And the media justs lets itself be manipulated. Apple certainly designs beautiful products that take design in consumer electronics to the next level. And their corporate muscle has managed to open…

  • Breaking Up Your Podcasts

    What’s the best length for a podcast? That’s a bit like asking, “How long is a piece of string?” The recent RAJAR MIDAS data showed a wide range of opinions: What this shows is that there’s no consensus. I listen to podcasts that can vary between a couple of minutes and nearly two hours. So…

  • I’m A Photographer – Not A Terrorist

    At midday today, I went to Trafalgar Square along with what must have been a couple of thousand of other photographers to protest that “I’m A Photographer, Not A Terrorist!” This is an event that will surely have hundreds of photos coming out of it. There were no speeches per se, but lots of group…

  • Henning Mankell

    One of my favourite authors, Henning Mankell, was in London this week to promote his new novel The Man From Beijing. This isn’t a novel set around his most famous creation – Kurt Wallander – but is a thriller set in several countries including, of course, Sweden. Mankell was interviewed by Stefanie Marsh of The…

  • I’m A Photographer – Not A Terrorist

    This weekend there’s a (hopefully) big demonstration of photographers protesting against the vast misuse of Section 44 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (2000). This essentially allows police to stop and search anyone in a specified area. Since those areas include much of London, that effectively means anybody in the city. Fine. Nobody likes terrorism.…

  • The UK Radio Aid Question

    The earthquake that the people of Haiti experienced nearly a week ago now was horrific, and it’s wonderful that at time of writing the appeal launched by the Disasters Emergency Committee has reached over £23 million. Following the Asian tsunami on Boxing Day 2004, UK Radio Aid was a telethon of sorts that took place…

  • Sky One After Harry Hill… Again

    I don’t blame a presenter trying to maximise their value, but if reports are true, then Harry Hill is shortly going to be signing a deal with Sky One and leaving ITV. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. In March last year they were after Harry again, as well as Gavin and Stacey.…

  • Radio Times 10 January 2010

    A little different this time around. I’ve just removed anything not worth bothering with. That does tend to leave some channels a little bereft… So Lark Rise doesn’t make the cut. And that’s even though it was directed by Sue (Suzanne Ross/Michelle Fowler) Tully. And isn’t The Choir an odd choice for Sign Zone –…

  • Ross Quits

    The big news today is that Jonathan Ross has quit his job at the BBC. Although he’ll be staying on for specials and on presentational duty at things like the BAFTAs and Comic Relief, he’ll be leaving his Friday Night Show, Film 2010 and Saturday morning Radio 2 show. Leaving aside the whys and wherefores…

  • Timelapses

    When it became clear that it was going to snow fairly heavily near my flat last night, I thought it might be fun to put some timelapse videos together. Indeed, that might be a good idea, but I’m not convinced that I managed the best implementation ever. This first video is the worst. It’s the…