2005 is getting ever nearer. I'm still feeling a bit under the weather, so I'm giving the town's pubs a miss and trying to get into the spirit of things at home. As I've done in the past, I've used to the net to tune into radio stations around the world as New Year arrives in the various timezones. No great celebrations hear from Kyrgyzstan, Reunion or Russia's radio stations, although a couple of Russian stations played the Kremlin Chimes and the full national anthem, although I think this is fairly standard practice.
Coming up next in GMT+2 countries are central African states, Israel, Finland, the Baltic states and Cyprus.
20041231
New look Channel 4
Judging from today's redesigned Channel 4 news and the new station idents that followed it, Channel 4 is heading back to the segmented "4" so familiar to us during the 80s and much of the 90s. They have of course given it a 21st century spin, but some of idents are clear replicas of those from years ago, when the various fragments would come together to form the "4". My favourite variation was shown prior to Channel 4's then NFL coverage, which was an American football helmet on top of the channel 4 logo...
The best bit of course was when the helmet snorts blasts of air into the (supposedly) cold morning air.
Fair Isle, Viking, Forties
I was surprised to see a book today in Waterstones that shares the name of this blog. Apparently it's all about the shipping forecast, as is this blog of course :)
20041229
Following events around the Indian Ocean
Living in something of a communications black hole in the rural North of England, I've been in search of more in-depth coverage of the Indian Ocean disaster than the reduced-length Christmastime TV news programmes have allowed. The BBC World Service has been the best source I've come across so far, with extensive coverage, interviews, discussion and analysis offered on a regularly basis. The World Service also takes a wider interest in events, beyond the national focus generally pursued by domestic media outlets, and is really worth a listen. Tune in on DAB, digital TV, MW 648 in North West Europe or Worldwide on Shortwave and satellite.
I'm surprised that there are not more missing Britons in the area. The BBC say there are "dozens" still missing in Thailand, but if correct, it's a great deal less than the many, many hundreds of missing from Sweden, German, Switerland and elsewhere. However our focus must be now on the millions living in the region affected without homes and basic amenities. With this in mind, an appeal website has been set up by the Disasters Emergency Committee which is something of an umbrella organisation for a number of charities. Alternatively it is possible to donate to a specific charity such the British Red Cross (link below) or Oxfam.
I'm surprised that there are not more missing Britons in the area. The BBC say there are "dozens" still missing in Thailand, but if correct, it's a great deal less than the many, many hundreds of missing from Sweden, German, Switerland and elsewhere. However our focus must be now on the millions living in the region affected without homes and basic amenities. With this in mind, an appeal website has been set up by the Disasters Emergency Committee which is something of an umbrella organisation for a number of charities. Alternatively it is possible to donate to a specific charity such the British Red Cross (link below) or Oxfam.
20041228
Illness and Earthquakes
Sorry about the lack of updates over the past few days; I've been laid low with a nasty bug and am only just and so getting over it now. Not the making of the best Christmas ever, but at least it helped limit my food intake. I did promise some White Christmas photos, so here's one taken in the Lake District on Boxing day. Oddly, there was actually more snow on the low-lying areas around here than in the lakes. I'll add some local wintry shots when I get the chance. The snow lasted fairly well for this country - only yesterday's rain saw off the last of it.
I think it's fair to say that the festive spirit was given a considerable dampener by the devastation caused around the Indian Ocean by Sunday morning's massive earthquake and resultant tsunamis. The death toll, number of injuries and amount of damaged caused it already astronomical and is certainly set to rise. I was shocked this evening to read that 1,500 Swedish tourists are currently missing in Thailand.
I'm not entirely sure what to do as regards helping the relief effort. Normally after such events you see these appeals on TV with a number to call, but in this case there's nothing so clear, and with revelations always being published about how little money given to charities actually reaches the intended party, i.e. those in need, it's not exactly encouraging to make the effort.
The British Red Cross strikes me as as good a start as any though, and they've already got systems set up for donating on-line and through other means. They're encouraging people to give "just one hour", i.e. one hour's salary, preferably each month or as a one off payment. I'm rather leaning towards giving a one off payment for now, but giving rather more than just an hour's salary.
I think it's fair to say that the festive spirit was given a considerable dampener by the devastation caused around the Indian Ocean by Sunday morning's massive earthquake and resultant tsunamis. The death toll, number of injuries and amount of damaged caused it already astronomical and is certainly set to rise. I was shocked this evening to read that 1,500 Swedish tourists are currently missing in Thailand.
I'm not entirely sure what to do as regards helping the relief effort. Normally after such events you see these appeals on TV with a number to call, but in this case there's nothing so clear, and with revelations always being published about how little money given to charities actually reaches the intended party, i.e. those in need, it's not exactly encouraging to make the effort.
The British Red Cross strikes me as as good a start as any though, and they've already got systems set up for donating on-line and through other means. They're encouraging people to give "just one hour", i.e. one hour's salary, preferably each month or as a one off payment. I'm rather leaning towards giving a one off payment for now, but giving rather more than just an hour's salary.
20041225
White Christmas!
That rarest of event has occured: a White Christmas! Maybe not on the Met Office roof, but here in the North West of England there's snow a plenty on the hills and underfoot. Photos to follow!
Bed time
Another fine Christmas Eve comes to an end.
Norad shows Santa as having reached Brazil.
Still no White Christmas yet...but who knows what might transpire between now and Christmas morning.
MERRY CHRISTMAS and goodnight!
Norad shows Santa as having reached Brazil.
Still no White Christmas yet...but who knows what might transpire between now and Christmas morning.
MERRY CHRISTMAS and goodnight!
20041224
The sleigh's progress...
...currently passing over the Himalayas
No sign of snow yet. The bookies might get to keep their money. They'd lose £1 million if it was officially a white christmas, but then that's based on a snowflake landing on the Met Office roof in London, so don't hold you breath on that one. However surely a White Christmas for most people is if you get snow lying where-ever you may be, so keep your fingers crossed, unless you're needing to travel across country tomorrow...
No sign of snow yet. The bookies might get to keep their money. They'd lose £1 million if it was officially a white christmas, but then that's based on a snowflake landing on the Met Office roof in London, so don't hold you breath on that one. However surely a White Christmas for most people is if you get snow lying where-ever you may be, so keep your fingers crossed, unless you're needing to travel across country tomorrow...
The new scourge of long-distance journeys
Just when we thought long train rides wouldn't get any more noisy and disturbed than crap mobile ring-tones playing at top volume and mis-behaving children ignored by their scumbag parents, we have a new crowned monarch of irritation on public-transport. It is the portable-DVD player. I had seen this coming, with laptops on earlier journeys I've taken being used to play DVDs, but now the affordability of portable-DVDs allows the same scumbag parents with their loud mobiles and screaming kids to ensure not a moment's peace is had by anyone around them, by playing a DVD throughout the journey....through the speakers. You see, playing a DVD wouldn't cause much if any disturbance when used with the headphones as they are intended, but to play the film's audio loudly, through the speaker, on confined public transport...
T'is grumpy old men season again!
T'is grumpy old men season again!
White Christmas?
Well it's officially a torrential downpour so far here at home in North West England. Will it turn into a white one? Stay tuned for updates.
Father Christmas/Santa/Tomte/Der Weihnachtsmann is on his way
Visit the Norad Santa website to track his progress. Currently he's visited New Zealand and is making his way over the Pacific.
20041220
French blog
I came across an interesting French blog over the weekend. I don't recall how exactly, but then that's how the internet should work: links to links to links and before you know it you've come across something new, interesting and quite possible completely unrelated to the original site you were looking at.
Now I'm the first to admit that my French is rusty; the last French I spoke in any amount was during my GCSEs, taken 10 years ago next summer. Fortunately French is one of those languages where enough of the words are similar to English that you can get a pretty decent idea of what's being said, although I'll have to add something to my Christmas list: "Father Christmas, je voudrais un dictionnaire français. Merci".
Anyway, the blog in question is 'Heures Creuses', which if Babelfish is to be believe translates as 'Off-peak hours', which sounds as if it could make a good title for a shift worker's blog, or as an off-shoot of the London Underground blog.
You may be wondering what the blog's about. Well my rusty French doesn't allow for such a comprehensive analysis, but there's certainly a media theme running through it, and it's content heavy with various sections and photo galleries, which is a big plus in my book.
All I need to do now is learn some French and I'm away!
Now I'm the first to admit that my French is rusty; the last French I spoke in any amount was during my GCSEs, taken 10 years ago next summer. Fortunately French is one of those languages where enough of the words are similar to English that you can get a pretty decent idea of what's being said, although I'll have to add something to my Christmas list: "Father Christmas, je voudrais un dictionnaire français. Merci".
Anyway, the blog in question is 'Heures Creuses', which if Babelfish is to be believe translates as 'Off-peak hours', which sounds as if it could make a good title for a shift worker's blog, or as an off-shoot of the London Underground blog.
You may be wondering what the blog's about. Well my rusty French doesn't allow for such a comprehensive analysis, but there's certainly a media theme running through it, and it's content heavy with various sections and photo galleries, which is a big plus in my book.
All I need to do now is learn some French and I'm away!
20041219
Electiontime....hopefully not just yet
A leaflet from the local Conservative Party candidate arrived the other week, which set me off wondering if this is the first, albeit unofficial, sign of the election campaign ahead. Fortunately it's not been followed up by bumpf from any other party, so hopefully it was just an early attempt to put the party in play in the local area. I must admit I don't know who the local MP, although I believe he/she/it is Labour, which is surprising as I would imagine this area would normally be pretty blue on the political map, and I believe it was until quite recently.
The leaflet that arrived was hardly a representation of 21st century Conservative Party ideology and thinking. Rather it was a moan about how terrible the District Line is. I don't personally have a problem with the old green line, and of all the weeks it's taken me to my evening class I've never been late. That's not to say it's never had to stop along the way, but it's yet to seriously inconvenience me. I don't generally take the District line that much though, as I prefer the addition impression of speed that the mainline trains have. If anything the line into Waterloo stops and starts as much as anything, especially on weekends.
However on the whole I'm a bit disappointed that a more substantial topic wasn't chosen to take on the government. Perhaps the District line is worse than I think, or maybe everything is generally rosey and the Tories are pushed for cause to complain, yet I think the absence of ideology in modern politics plays no small part. The parties seem to all too often bicker in an attempt to point-score as there is otherwise an absence of a broader idea. Perhaps we are better without the big ideologies of old. Let's face it, it doesn't often seem to have done the world as a whole a lot of good, but now with moving to the other extreme of reactionary and uncoordinated spur-of-the-moment ideas, there seems to be a general lack of direction. Having some dreams can't be bad, can it?
The leaflet that arrived was hardly a representation of 21st century Conservative Party ideology and thinking. Rather it was a moan about how terrible the District Line is. I don't personally have a problem with the old green line, and of all the weeks it's taken me to my evening class I've never been late. That's not to say it's never had to stop along the way, but it's yet to seriously inconvenience me. I don't generally take the District line that much though, as I prefer the addition impression of speed that the mainline trains have. If anything the line into Waterloo stops and starts as much as anything, especially on weekends.
However on the whole I'm a bit disappointed that a more substantial topic wasn't chosen to take on the government. Perhaps the District line is worse than I think, or maybe everything is generally rosey and the Tories are pushed for cause to complain, yet I think the absence of ideology in modern politics plays no small part. The parties seem to all too often bicker in an attempt to point-score as there is otherwise an absence of a broader idea. Perhaps we are better without the big ideologies of old. Let's face it, it doesn't often seem to have done the world as a whole a lot of good, but now with moving to the other extreme of reactionary and uncoordinated spur-of-the-moment ideas, there seems to be a general lack of direction. Having some dreams can't be bad, can it?
Sun is shining, weather is cool
Despite the best predictions of BBC Weather Online (which has a firm reputation nationwide for being wildly innaccurate even for same day forcasts) that cloud and drizzle was the best to expect today we were (finally) treated to a full winter's day of sunshine and blue skies. Fantastic! I fortunately woke up fairly early so set off for a day with the camera. It was I'm about to download the results and am expecting better things than yesterday! It's been cold though: a proper winter's day, and a stiff breeze by the Thames. I was about nithered! (Not that any Londoner would know what that meant if I told them.)
20041218
Busiest shopping day
Despite warnings that today is the busiest shopping day of the year, I nevertheless headed into central London to finishing off my Christmas buying. The key I've found is to get to the shops early; it's amazing how quiet the city's main shopping areas can be shortly after opening time. I don't even mean that early; I arrived a little before 10am, and I got around without and hustle, bustle or hassle.
I even headed back into the city later in the day as part of my obligatory weekly attempt to do some photography. "Attempt" has been the word of late with the weather being so uniformly great and uninspiring. There was actually some sunshine this morning, but typically when I head out with the camera it's back to overcase skies once more. Although I'm getting to grips with the D70, I still haven't worked out a definite checklist to ensure all settings are correct before setting off. Today it was only on getting back and downloading the photos did I notice rather a lot of noise and on checking found that the ISO was set to 640. I must have been playing with it during the week to see how much it affected exposure. Hey-ho, at least I didn't mess up any groundbreaking photography. The weather largely put pay to that, but I got around and found some diverse views of the city. Being urban as they are I may well try making them negative and using the grain to my advantage in adding effect to the images.
I even headed back into the city later in the day as part of my obligatory weekly attempt to do some photography. "Attempt" has been the word of late with the weather being so uniformly great and uninspiring. There was actually some sunshine this morning, but typically when I head out with the camera it's back to overcase skies once more. Although I'm getting to grips with the D70, I still haven't worked out a definite checklist to ensure all settings are correct before setting off. Today it was only on getting back and downloading the photos did I notice rather a lot of noise and on checking found that the ISO was set to 640. I must have been playing with it during the week to see how much it affected exposure. Hey-ho, at least I didn't mess up any groundbreaking photography. The weather largely put pay to that, but I got around and found some diverse views of the city. Being urban as they are I may well try making them negative and using the grain to my advantage in adding effect to the images.
20041214
News on the website
Well it's official, the website will be moving from it's current home at www.eurobahn.co.uk to it's new permanent home at www.danielatkinson.co.uk. In fact it's moved already, but the site at eurobahn will remain live for a little while longer before it becomes just a forwarding address to the main site. If you've currently got any pages in your browser favourites or linked to on your own website you'll need to update them.
The change in URL reflects a shift in the site from the travel section to being a more general personal site, with a ever growing photography section.
Some things are winding down a bit for Christmas, but both at work and on the streets people are getting wound up with the approach of the festive season, and the pressure to get those pressies bought. Updates to the site will be made when possible. I've a good few photos taken during December to go on the gallery, in spite of the overcast weather that has hung over us for so long.
Hopefully there'll be a good few more sunny winter days to come!
The change in URL reflects a shift in the site from the travel section to being a more general personal site, with a ever growing photography section.
Some things are winding down a bit for Christmas, but both at work and on the streets people are getting wound up with the approach of the festive season, and the pressure to get those pressies bought. Updates to the site will be made when possible. I've a good few photos taken during December to go on the gallery, in spite of the overcast weather that has hung over us for so long.
Hopefully there'll be a good few more sunny winter days to come!
20041212
Winter Sun
After what is feels like weeks of grey weather, a mixture of overcast skies and fog, today finally saw some sun and with it an opportunity to get outside for some photography. Otherwise it's been a very normal week or so. The highstreets are bustling with Christmas just 2 weeks away. It'll be nice to get away from it all for a few days.
Website news: Links to the website will soon have to be updated as the main domain name will be changing. More on that soon.
Website news: Links to the website will soon have to be updated as the main domain name will be changing. More on that soon.
20041201
Dying days of autumn
Well December is here, and the real countdown to Christmas begins in ernest. Leaves remaining on the trees are few in number, and I wonder if the leaf-blower train that has been knocking around the local station in recent weeks is finding much left to do.
I'm still hoping to get a few days out later this week to snap what remains of the autumn colours. The generally grey, albeit dry, weather that we've been encountering for most of November hasn't been helpful for photography, but if the forecast is right, and it seldom seems to be, the weekend is looking bright in prospect.
This is also the time of year when almost everyone does some shopping, even those who normally avoid going to the shops, such as myself, who aside from the weekly food shop and visits to a few select places are generally uninspired by the high-street offerings. All across Christendom, or should that be commercedom, the big rush is on to buy buy buy!
I'm still hoping to get a few days out later this week to snap what remains of the autumn colours. The generally grey, albeit dry, weather that we've been encountering for most of November hasn't been helpful for photography, but if the forecast is right, and it seldom seems to be, the weekend is looking bright in prospect.
This is also the time of year when almost everyone does some shopping, even those who normally avoid going to the shops, such as myself, who aside from the weekly food shop and visits to a few select places are generally uninspired by the high-street offerings. All across Christendom, or should that be commercedom, the big rush is on to buy buy buy!
20041127
animé nostalgique
Once in a while something will trigger some long forgotten memory of times passed. For me this is typically some TV series that most other people have lost any recollection of. One such example is Robostory. Ring a bell? Probably not...it was a animated series from France that was shown on CITV in what I'm guessing was the late 80s, although I can't be sure. The basic premise was that a girl and her dog ended up in a rocket which blasted off while they were in it, and ended up crash landing on another planet populated by a rather odd collection of robots. Still no memory of it? Well let me try this one on you...there was one white robot who was forever being told "You are the lowest of the low!" (see pic)
If you still don't remember it, you probably didn't see it, but for those who do have some vague recollection of it, you may, like me, want to track down more about. Alas there seems to be a paltry amount around. There are a handful of screengrabs, and some irritatingly broken links to a site that once houses a full episode in Real Player format. Alas no more. If anyone reading this does happen to possess such a video - get in touch!
For the terminally nostalgic, here are some links I found with bits of Robostory content:
http://www.planete-jeunesse.com/sources/series.php3?cle=388&sec=1
http://albator.com.fr/AlWebSite/maquette.php?Id=dessins26.php
http://www.nostalj.com/emission.php?quel=204
If you still don't remember it, you probably didn't see it, but for those who do have some vague recollection of it, you may, like me, want to track down more about. Alas there seems to be a paltry amount around. There are a handful of screengrabs, and some irritatingly broken links to a site that once houses a full episode in Real Player format. Alas no more. If anyone reading this does happen to possess such a video - get in touch!
For the terminally nostalgic, here are some links I found with bits of Robostory content:
http://www.planete-jeunesse.com/sources/series.php3?cle=388&sec=1
http://albator.com.fr/AlWebSite/maquette.php?Id=dessins26.php
http://www.nostalj.com/emission.php?quel=204
The return of Frank Sidebottom?
Way back in the 80s there was a character on TV with a big, round papier-maché head called Frank Sidebottom. I don't recall exactly what he did or what he was in, aside from starring in the Saturday morning childrens' programme "Number 73". I was browsing the Swedish TV website today when I saw a picture of what seems to be Frank - well a painted head looking exactly the same in any case. The video-clip only shows the character for a moment, so I've no idea if there's any link to the character who appeared on the British TV all those years ago.
20041124
Earl's Court station quiz night?
Was anyone else passing through Earl's Court station yesterday evening (Tuesday 23rd Nov) and heard what sounded like some sort of odd quiz? I only court a moment of it as I jumped off one train and on to another, but it went along the lines of:
"Sentence 8: Describe the shoes of a Dutchman"
"Sentence 23: How are books bound together?"
all recited in a well spoken and clear BBC-English accent. It resulted in a mix of confused looks and laughs from those waiting on my train. I would love to know what it was all about. Did it serve some purpose, or was it simply another fine example of the unique British randomness?
"Sentence 8: Describe the shoes of a Dutchman"
"Sentence 23: How are books bound together?"
all recited in a well spoken and clear BBC-English accent. It resulted in a mix of confused looks and laughs from those waiting on my train. I would love to know what it was all about. Did it serve some purpose, or was it simply another fine example of the unique British randomness?
20041120
Saturday photography: Apple Store Opening
A typically innaccurate weather forecast for today and the much hyped event of the opening of the Apple store on Regents Street (that's Apple as in Apple Computers, although I'm not sure if that's their title nowadays) got me heading into central London bright and early to see what, if anything, was doing.
Apple's enticement to the opening of their shop had been well publicised: a "lucky bag" costing £249 which contains over £700 of goods. Judging by the line of people at 8:45 on Saturday morning, that seemed to do the trick. 300 lucky bags were for sale, but I estimate that several hundred more were queueing up, although as some consolation the first 3000 people in the shop receive a free t-shirt.
There was plenty of build-up as the hour approached; staff arriving were whooping and hollering in the sort of American self-congratulatory way which grates on many Brits, but fair play to the queuers who are obviously first class Apple fans to have braved the increasingly wintery weather for all those hours.
I didn't actually go in the store as I didn't fancy waiting until everyone in the queue had gone in, which would have probably taken hours. At the end of the day it's another Oxford Circus area shop whose presence and location is there primarily, in my view at least, is to give kudos and status to the brand. More interestingly though for those who live or frequent London is that it represents part of the renewal of Regent Street. The rather tacky touristy shops near Piccadilly Circus are closing imminently, their long-term leases at an end, and the land/property owners have plans for the future. What exactly, I don't know, although I expect we will probably see less tack and more wall-to-wall brands. I could be wrong, but we'll see in time.
Central London is an interesting experience pre-10am. There's a certain unreal air about it all. The shops haven't yet opened, and so there's no particular reason to be there. People are around of course, but in an odd purposeless way, that you don't feel when there the streets are lined with retail, entertainment and tourism draws. It's interesting, and certainly pleasant compared to the crowds which are present during the rest of the day.
Apple's enticement to the opening of their shop had been well publicised: a "lucky bag" costing £249 which contains over £700 of goods. Judging by the line of people at 8:45 on Saturday morning, that seemed to do the trick. 300 lucky bags were for sale, but I estimate that several hundred more were queueing up, although as some consolation the first 3000 people in the shop receive a free t-shirt.
There was plenty of build-up as the hour approached; staff arriving were whooping and hollering in the sort of American self-congratulatory way which grates on many Brits, but fair play to the queuers who are obviously first class Apple fans to have braved the increasingly wintery weather for all those hours.
I didn't actually go in the store as I didn't fancy waiting until everyone in the queue had gone in, which would have probably taken hours. At the end of the day it's another Oxford Circus area shop whose presence and location is there primarily, in my view at least, is to give kudos and status to the brand. More interestingly though for those who live or frequent London is that it represents part of the renewal of Regent Street. The rather tacky touristy shops near Piccadilly Circus are closing imminently, their long-term leases at an end, and the land/property owners have plans for the future. What exactly, I don't know, although I expect we will probably see less tack and more wall-to-wall brands. I could be wrong, but we'll see in time.
Central London is an interesting experience pre-10am. There's a certain unreal air about it all. The shops haven't yet opened, and so there's no particular reason to be there. People are around of course, but in an odd purposeless way, that you don't feel when there the streets are lined with retail, entertainment and tourism draws. It's interesting, and certainly pleasant compared to the crowds which are present during the rest of the day.
20041109
Relationship between IQ and voting patterns
I was forwarded this website yesterday which shows that in the US Presidential election the states with higher IQs average vote for Kerry and those with lower IQs vote Bush. The bottom of the pile being an average IQ of 85 in Mississippi!
It'd be interesting to see how something similar in the UK would turn out...
It'd be interesting to see how something similar in the UK would turn out...
20041104
The transatlantic divide
What can be said about the result of the American presidential election? I can only conclude that there is a divide between Europe and the US far greater than previously realised. I've yet to speak to a Bush supporter, not just since Tuesday's election but actually since his initial election in 2000. I simply don't know anyone in Europe who even partially receptive to the line of reasoning put across by the White House. Everyone appears to be in a state of disbelief that Americans have apparently bought this nonsense about being under threat this great unseen enemy, that Iraq had anything to do with the Al Qaeda and that the current war is fighting the terrorist threat. They also seem to have overlooked the rising unemployment under Bush's "watch", and that America has altered for many around the world from being a symbol to idolise to an object of loathing. The country is, after all, marketed and exported as a brand, of which the President is the CEO. When the brand is tarnished, so are all the products associated with it, the American Dream included.
Yet the majority of American voters must have favoured Bush for some reason. Americans' fears and beliefs, patriotism, concepts of good and evil... these and more we can only attempt to understand, but how detached it seems from the way of thinking in the increasingly secular, questioning, social democracies of "Old Europe".
Yet the majority of American voters must have favoured Bush for some reason. Americans' fears and beliefs, patriotism, concepts of good and evil... these and more we can only attempt to understand, but how detached it seems from the way of thinking in the increasingly secular, questioning, social democracies of "Old Europe".
20041031
End of British Summertime
Life has largely got in the way of me updating the website during much of October, so as we reach the end of the month and put the clocks back to GMT (or whatever your local equivalent may be), it's a good opportunity to look both back and ahead.
The main event of October for me was a trip to Valencia, Spain's 3rd largest city, lying near the county's East coast. It was a short trip, a long weekend really, but it was great to get away from the big smoke and get abroad for the first time this year, which is remarkably infrequent by my standards.
For me Spain will always remind me of childhood holidays to Majorca or the Costas. Happily many elements that made Spain memorable back then remain. As I booked my flight very much last minute, I ended up taking indirect routes to avoid paying an arm and a leg. In the end this took me via Palma, Majorca on the way out, and via Madrid on the way back.
I looked forward to going to Majorca to rekindling some old memories. I wasn't staying there; in fact I only went between the terminals at the airport when changing flights, but seeing the distinctive windmills around Palma was heartening. I assume there are still the same twig-like sun shades on the beaches of the resorts. I've heard that many of the 1970s hotels are being knocked down and replaced by more modern constructions, but at least Palma airport was reassuringly 70s, which in some ways is part of my image of Spanish holidays.
Valencia was an interesting city: historic yet modern, by the sea but not a seaside town. It took a while to get used to eating at 10pm, and then on a few occasions going to a Valencia nightspot until 5am with my Spanish friends. I'm too used to British opening hours, obviously.
Although the reason for my trip was to visit a friend, the fact that the sun was shining, and the temperature was akin to a good 6-weeks earlier in the UK (i.e. summer), it made it feel all the more like a conventional holiday; something which, as much as I enjoy it, a winter trip to Sweden just doesn't convey :) It's years since I've been on a beach-holiday. Now don't get me wrong, this wasn't a beach holiday, but having visited the beach on a couple of occasions it was certainly the nearest I've been in a while. I suppose when you get to a certain age you want something more engaging than working on the melanoma, the city-breaks take over as the preferred type of holiday.
So it was: I had a fine few days in Valencia, and you can view the pictoral evidence on my photography website.
Now speaking of photographs I've got new content coming in that respect thanks to a new camera I've got. More soon on that.
The main event of October for me was a trip to Valencia, Spain's 3rd largest city, lying near the county's East coast. It was a short trip, a long weekend really, but it was great to get away from the big smoke and get abroad for the first time this year, which is remarkably infrequent by my standards.
For me Spain will always remind me of childhood holidays to Majorca or the Costas. Happily many elements that made Spain memorable back then remain. As I booked my flight very much last minute, I ended up taking indirect routes to avoid paying an arm and a leg. In the end this took me via Palma, Majorca on the way out, and via Madrid on the way back.
I looked forward to going to Majorca to rekindling some old memories. I wasn't staying there; in fact I only went between the terminals at the airport when changing flights, but seeing the distinctive windmills around Palma was heartening. I assume there are still the same twig-like sun shades on the beaches of the resorts. I've heard that many of the 1970s hotels are being knocked down and replaced by more modern constructions, but at least Palma airport was reassuringly 70s, which in some ways is part of my image of Spanish holidays.
Valencia was an interesting city: historic yet modern, by the sea but not a seaside town. It took a while to get used to eating at 10pm, and then on a few occasions going to a Valencia nightspot until 5am with my Spanish friends. I'm too used to British opening hours, obviously.
Although the reason for my trip was to visit a friend, the fact that the sun was shining, and the temperature was akin to a good 6-weeks earlier in the UK (i.e. summer), it made it feel all the more like a conventional holiday; something which, as much as I enjoy it, a winter trip to Sweden just doesn't convey :) It's years since I've been on a beach-holiday. Now don't get me wrong, this wasn't a beach holiday, but having visited the beach on a couple of occasions it was certainly the nearest I've been in a while. I suppose when you get to a certain age you want something more engaging than working on the melanoma, the city-breaks take over as the preferred type of holiday.
So it was: I had a fine few days in Valencia, and you can view the pictoral evidence on my photography website.
Now speaking of photographs I've got new content coming in that respect thanks to a new camera I've got. More soon on that.
20041001
Where did the summer go?
My God it's October already. The heating has been switched on in the building, the shops are (to the irritation of everyone I've heard from) filling with Christmas related merchandise, and we're a few short weeks away from the clocks going back.
I was hoping this weekend might allow a last glorious blast of summer, but it's not looking particularly likely so far, with Sunday looking like a potential washout. Nevertheless, if there's a sign of sun, I shall be making an effort to get out and about. At least it's still quite mild, and not unconducive to enjoying the great outdoors.
I was hoping this weekend might allow a last glorious blast of summer, but it's not looking particularly likely so far, with Sunday looking like a potential washout. Nevertheless, if there's a sign of sun, I shall be making an effort to get out and about. At least it's still quite mild, and not unconducive to enjoying the great outdoors.
20040922
Travel in pictures
Images are now being added to the travel section of the website to add a bit of colour to the guides. The pages about Britain are the first to see images added (as I've the most choice of photos to go on) but more will be added in due course. At the same time I'm also continuing to add and update the information on the pages.
20040919
Over 500 photos!
Updates to both this blog and the website are definitely due, so I've added a couple of new sections to the photo gallery website, bringing the total number of images in the gallery to over 500. The latest sections are those photos taken during September so far, and from the excellent Proms in the Park, which took place last weekend in Hyde Park. There are still more shots to be added to the August section when I have a spare moment.
Photos still needing to the travel section. I haven't forgotten. Actually I'm rather fancying some more trips around Europe at the moment, as there's certainly no chance of a bigger trip before next year. I'm not sure where yet, but as I've signed up for a German course Germany, Austria or Switzerland may well be on the cards. That said, the Baltic states are coming well recommended, and Ryanair is starting flights to one of the capitals (I forgot which) from the end of October.
It's Open House Weekend in London this weekend, where there's the chance to look around hundreds of the capital's landmark buildings that are normally out of bounds for the general public. I was hoping to go to the Gherkin until I heard today that people were queueing 4 hours. That's a long wait for a good view.
Photos still needing to the travel section. I haven't forgotten. Actually I'm rather fancying some more trips around Europe at the moment, as there's certainly no chance of a bigger trip before next year. I'm not sure where yet, but as I've signed up for a German course Germany, Austria or Switzerland may well be on the cards. That said, the Baltic states are coming well recommended, and Ryanair is starting flights to one of the capitals (I forgot which) from the end of October.
It's Open House Weekend in London this weekend, where there's the chance to look around hundreds of the capital's landmark buildings that are normally out of bounds for the general public. I was hoping to go to the Gherkin until I heard today that people were queueing 4 hours. That's a long wait for a good view.
20040906
Going digital
I decided to go shopping at the weekend and enter the world of digital radio and television. I've been suitably impressed by both so far.
DAB radio offers around 50 stations covering a wide variety of formats and musical genres. Strangely though, or perhaps not so strange; of the stations programmed into the radio's presets, many are the same I'd listed to on analogue radio - BBC Radio 4, 5 Live and the like. It's fantastic to be finally able to receive the World Service in high-fidelity, and 6 Music is sounding good so far too. As for the commercial offerings; well I've never been a great fan of commercial radio, although many of the digital stations seem to be fairly light on advertising for the time being, which is fine by me. Planet Rock plays a good few quality tracks you'd not hear elsewhere, and I'm working my way through many of the other stations, sampling a few minutes of programming from each. There's something for most moods; it's just a matter of trying to remember everything that's available to listen to!
Freeview was a less expensive secondary purchase from the weekend. Remarkably easy to set up, and no signal problems at all, considering I'm just using an internal area sitting on the dining table. Saying that, there's a direct line-of-sight to Crystal Palace from many places around here, so it's perhaps not terribly surprising, but it's good to see that the sound 1920s construction of the building doesn't block all signals. (Wireless internet is not so lucky.)
There aren't a great number of stations of Freeview, since many of the higher profile ones such as E4 and Discovery are subscription based. Nevertheless, for news-junkies such as myself there are three news channels and a UK History channel which shows a good number of documentaries. Even the Sky Travel channel shows some decent fare, such as vintage Whicker's World. Fantastic! BBC Four has also been looking good, and seems to be the place where World Cinema has now relocated. I remember in the past there being a decent amount of films on Channel 4 and BBC2, but this seems to have dried up in recent years. There was a great French film on over the weekend though, and it looks as if my fortunes are looking up.
DAB radio offers around 50 stations covering a wide variety of formats and musical genres. Strangely though, or perhaps not so strange; of the stations programmed into the radio's presets, many are the same I'd listed to on analogue radio - BBC Radio 4, 5 Live and the like. It's fantastic to be finally able to receive the World Service in high-fidelity, and 6 Music is sounding good so far too. As for the commercial offerings; well I've never been a great fan of commercial radio, although many of the digital stations seem to be fairly light on advertising for the time being, which is fine by me. Planet Rock plays a good few quality tracks you'd not hear elsewhere, and I'm working my way through many of the other stations, sampling a few minutes of programming from each. There's something for most moods; it's just a matter of trying to remember everything that's available to listen to!
Freeview was a less expensive secondary purchase from the weekend. Remarkably easy to set up, and no signal problems at all, considering I'm just using an internal area sitting on the dining table. Saying that, there's a direct line-of-sight to Crystal Palace from many places around here, so it's perhaps not terribly surprising, but it's good to see that the sound 1920s construction of the building doesn't block all signals. (Wireless internet is not so lucky.)
There aren't a great number of stations of Freeview, since many of the higher profile ones such as E4 and Discovery are subscription based. Nevertheless, for news-junkies such as myself there are three news channels and a UK History channel which shows a good number of documentaries. Even the Sky Travel channel shows some decent fare, such as vintage Whicker's World. Fantastic! BBC Four has also been looking good, and seems to be the place where World Cinema has now relocated. I remember in the past there being a decent amount of films on Channel 4 and BBC2, but this seems to have dried up in recent years. There was a great French film on over the weekend though, and it looks as if my fortunes are looking up.
20040831
So much for the summer
The remaining few minutes of the summer tick away and shortly we'll be entering September, which for most people means Autumn has arrived, and with it the end of lounging on the beach in the sun, long golden days. So the theory goes. Britain has a reputation for its erratic weather, but from what I've heard via friends the same lack of summer we've been experiencing has affected more or less all of Europe at similar latitudes. Still, there's hope for an Indian Summer yet.
20040830
'Impeach Blair Now'
It was the above title which made me pick up and buy a copy of the Spectator magazine the other day. Although I do like to pick up one of the political periodicals fairly regularly, the Spectator isn't normally one I'd read, as its partisan line isn't exactly to my own tastes. However on this occasion mention of impeaching the PM did grab my attention.
Perhaps I shouldn't have been so easily swayed by a headline, but in my opinion Blair's seemingly reasonable work at managing the country so far has been irrevocably overshadowed on what appears to have been a fool's errand in Iraq, and I won't at all mind seeing the Blair - Bush pact given a bloodied nose over the whole affair. And so I read about the proposed impeachment of Blair with at least a touch of expectation.
The Spectator made the proposed impeachment sound like quite a realistic proposition, whereas in the story on the BBC website, the whole idea seems to have been given little regard by MPs as a whole. Interestingly, it transpires that Boris Johnson, editor of the Spectator, is one of the 11 MPs supporting the impeachment. I suppose that explains their upbeat coverage of the proposal. Alas, perhaps Teflon Tony will walk away with it again ...until the election at least.
Perhaps I shouldn't have been so easily swayed by a headline, but in my opinion Blair's seemingly reasonable work at managing the country so far has been irrevocably overshadowed on what appears to have been a fool's errand in Iraq, and I won't at all mind seeing the Blair - Bush pact given a bloodied nose over the whole affair. And so I read about the proposed impeachment of Blair with at least a touch of expectation.
The Spectator made the proposed impeachment sound like quite a realistic proposition, whereas in the story on the BBC website, the whole idea seems to have been given little regard by MPs as a whole. Interestingly, it transpires that Boris Johnson, editor of the Spectator, is one of the 11 MPs supporting the impeachment. I suppose that explains their upbeat coverage of the proposal. Alas, perhaps Teflon Tony will walk away with it again ...until the election at least.
20040829
Back from a break
I'm back following a week or so of travelling, seeing the sights and entertaining friends. Look out for photos from some of the trips and places appearing in the photo album soon, which includes a trip on the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Inverness. I can't claim that much sleeping was actually done, but it's certainly a reasonable way of making such a long journey.
I've also been to the Edinburgh Festival, and I've got to say that the shows I saw were excellent, both thoroughly entertaining and proving to be of a higher quality than I had expected (having seen Newsnight Review's coverage of some of the shows). Street-performers I can live without, but the show about John Lennon's death and an evening of comedy poetry both went down an absolute storm. The latter had the lyrical wordsmiths pay homage to the 80's, declare their love for an orange girl (who had been on the sunbed too long), and declare the hell-holes that are call centres, each in their own distinct and witty styles.
I've a great deal of sleep to catch up on, as the past week has consisted largely of full days working and sightseeing in many cases, then eating out and getting to bed late. Unfortunately given the current hour unless I make a particularly valiant effort to sleep in tomorrow I'll still be behind on my quota for kippage.
I've also been to the Edinburgh Festival, and I've got to say that the shows I saw were excellent, both thoroughly entertaining and proving to be of a higher quality than I had expected (having seen Newsnight Review's coverage of some of the shows). Street-performers I can live without, but the show about John Lennon's death and an evening of comedy poetry both went down an absolute storm. The latter had the lyrical wordsmiths pay homage to the 80's, declare their love for an orange girl (who had been on the sunbed too long), and declare the hell-holes that are call centres, each in their own distinct and witty styles.
I've a great deal of sleep to catch up on, as the past week has consisted largely of full days working and sightseeing in many cases, then eating out and getting to bed late. Unfortunately given the current hour unless I make a particularly valiant effort to sleep in tomorrow I'll still be behind on my quota for kippage.
20040812
Slogan of the day
While browsing International Broadcasting websites I came across the following banner graphic for Aljazeera. Good choice of slogan I reckon...
20040809
Night shots
The next set of photos to appear on the photography website will be some night-time shots I took the other weekend in central London. Some of the shots were challenging, in that i was trying to get the camera to balance on the side railings of say Westminster or Waterloo bridge in order to take a shot down the river. Some came out, others not.
My favourite shots from the evening were the long exposures of traffic, which isn't something I'd really tried before, not least due to having lived in a place where there's not much traffic anyway. No such problems on Waterloo Bridge or on the Mall, and some of the results look pretty funky. It's certainly something I'll be experimenting further with in the future. Red London double-decker buses make for some of the most best subjects.
My favourite shots from the evening were the long exposures of traffic, which isn't something I'd really tried before, not least due to having lived in a place where there's not much traffic anyway. No such problems on Waterloo Bridge or on the Mall, and some of the results look pretty funky. It's certainly something I'll be experimenting further with in the future. Red London double-decker buses make for some of the most best subjects.
20040724
Farnborough Airshow photos
I'm currently going through over 250 photos taken at the Farnborough Airshow today. It was a good day, with plenty to see inside and out. Perhaps even too much - I was often torn between seeing the air display and the stands inside. There wasn't much dealing going on - that all went on last week. The weekend is for the public, so most of the stands have a skeleton staff, mainly handing out freebies rather than taking orders for millions of pounds worth of aircraft.
Look out for the airshow pics on my personal photo gallery.
Here's an interesting news story about a B52 which, scheduled to appear at Farnborough one day last week actually missed the airfield completely and ended up going around another airfield a few miles away. Makes you wonder how they manage with precision-bombing sorties thousands of miles from home!
Look out for the airshow pics on my personal photo gallery.
Here's an interesting news story about a B52 which, scheduled to appear at Farnborough one day last week actually missed the airfield completely and ended up going around another airfield a few miles away. Makes you wonder how they manage with precision-bombing sorties thousands of miles from home!
20040721
Going Live!
This message is a bit overdue, but yes, the new website is now live! There's still a fair amount of work to be done, and old pages are being left in their original locations too to cater for existing links to the site. The content is largely in place, however, so it's onwards and upwards from this point on.
20040707
Getting there now...
Most of the sections of the new site are in some form of order now, and although not all of the content is complete, I'm looking at putting the site live in the not too distant future and working on it as I go, so at least some current content will be available. I'm aware that what's on the site at the moment hasn't been updated in a while.
The main areas that will be updated after going live will be the images in the Travel section and content in the World Media section.
The main areas that will be updated after going live will be the images in the Travel section and content in the World Media section.
20040623
New website - latest news
I've been working on getting the design of the website to my liking in the past couple of weeks and have been tweaking some display issues along the way. Although the site is designed for 800x600 resolutions and above, it should also resize okay in smaller windows.
I've changed the look of the navigation so that it looks clearer and better then before.
The main challenge now is to prepare the rest of the content for the new site. I haven't touched the World Media section in a while now, and I need to be making progress on it.
I've changed the look of the navigation so that it looks clearer and better then before.
The main challenge now is to prepare the rest of the content for the new site. I haven't touched the World Media section in a while now, and I need to be making progress on it.
20040602
World Media
Having completed the Travel section aside from images and photographs, the next priority is the World Media section. I'm going to modify this section to reflect how my own listening to international broadcasters has altered recently. This will give focus on broadband internet content, which I'm currently exploring, but will continue to feature shortwave information and developments with Digital Radio Mondiale.
New site design update
Due to the number of pages this site has and the amount of time I've spent updating the site in the past, I've made the decision to use frames in the new site design. Although I'm quite aware that many in the web design community aren't keen on the use of frames, until such time that I'm able to create a database driven site, frames will allow me to ensure the whole site is kept current as efficiently as possible.
So far I've been testing the site in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox with good results. I'll be trying out Opera as well soon, so most of the major browsers should display the site as it is intended.
So far I've been testing the site in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox with good results. I'll be trying out Opera as well soon, so most of the major browsers should display the site as it is intended.
20040518
Website work in progress: Travel
So far the travel section of the website has been updated for the new site. Note, however, that the new site will only go live when all of the pages of the site have been updated. Going through the travel section provided a good opportunity to streamline the content, and to rewrite and update the pages. The new travel pages are currently without images, but I'll look at better integrating these into the text in due course.
20040516
Site updates
I'm currently working on revamping the site. Things are busy with other things too, so it'll probably be a few weeks before it goes live. Updates will be posted here as work progresses....
20040419
Broadening the scope
I've not put much in this blog for a while. I've been meaning to pay tribute to Cooke and Ustinov, but things have been busy of late to say the least.
For a bit of added motivation I'm going to add general technology topics to this blog, to spur me on to add more frequent entries.
For a bit of added motivation I'm going to add general technology topics to this blog, to spur me on to add more frequent entries.
20040328
Broadcasting House
BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme today came from New York, and was duly greeted by the cries of listeners who are apparantly fed-up of specials always coming from the US and featuring something trivial. I can sympathise, and it makes me wonder if the media has the same fixation with the US as the poxy Blair government.
In any case, this morning's BH did include an interesting feature (dumbed down or not) on 'Air America Radio', a new liberal network of stations to take to the airwaves in the currently Republican dominated Mediumwave band. Clearly timed to influence the Presidential Election this autumn, the network is aiming to be an antedote to the extreme-right voices such as Rush Limbaugh.
In any case, this morning's BH did include an interesting feature (dumbed down or not) on 'Air America Radio', a new liberal network of stations to take to the airwaves in the currently Republican dominated Mediumwave band. Clearly timed to influence the Presidential Election this autumn, the network is aiming to be an antedote to the extreme-right voices such as Rush Limbaugh.
20040322
Feedback
It should now be possible to leave comments on each of the entries in this blog. Your thoughts are very welcome.
20040321
Moscow Calling
I've got back into listing to the Voice of Russia for the first time in quite a while. Most of my listening in recent times has been limited those stations relayed via WRN on my Worldspace receiver. Unfortunately the timing of the Voice of Russia has meant that I have rarely ever been able to catch it's one airing each day. So it's been back to the trusty shortwave set which unfortunately seems to be suffering from a bust speaker, and the bassy sound of the Sangean ATS 909 has now become a muffled mush, requiring an external speaker to regain intelligibility.
Nevertheless I've got it sorted, and have printed out the latest schedule from the Voice of Russia website. Sadly, VoR's long standing Science Correspondent Boris Belitsky died quite recently I believe, so the programme 'Science and Engineering in the Commonwealth' is for the time being no more.
A new programme I noticed, however, is 'Moscow Calling'. From it's name I thought it might be a listener mailbag programme, and although the edition of the programme I heard did feature listener's comments, it's in fact a rock show (using the opening of the Gorky Park song of the same name as an intro). This seems to be quite a revolution in the schedule of VoR, as here we have an energetic show hosted by young presenters on modern, popular music. In my mind VoR has tended to err towards a more intellectual and classical type of programming, but Moscow Calling can only be a forward step in broadening the station's audience and appeal.
Nevertheless I've got it sorted, and have printed out the latest schedule from the Voice of Russia website. Sadly, VoR's long standing Science Correspondent Boris Belitsky died quite recently I believe, so the programme 'Science and Engineering in the Commonwealth' is for the time being no more.
A new programme I noticed, however, is 'Moscow Calling'. From it's name I thought it might be a listener mailbag programme, and although the edition of the programme I heard did feature listener's comments, it's in fact a rock show (using the opening of the Gorky Park song of the same name as an intro). This seems to be quite a revolution in the schedule of VoR, as here we have an energetic show hosted by young presenters on modern, popular music. In my mind VoR has tended to err towards a more intellectual and classical type of programming, but Moscow Calling can only be a forward step in broadening the station's audience and appeal.
US war coverage
Interesting feature on Channel 4 news this evening about the war coverage by the major US networks. Apparantly the viewers of Fox News were so confused by that channel's coverage that 30% of viewers actually thought that WMDs had been discovered in Iraq.
It's been clear for some time that the US networks have just unquestioningly supported the march towards war, and now that questions are being asked about validity of the reasons for invading Iraq the issue has got to be raised as to why the US TV networks weren't there and asking the right questions when it mattered.
It seems to me to be another clear sign of the excessively deferrential stance the US media takes with the Administration. Support the country after 9/11, certainly, but when it comes to war, a probing, investigative and critical eye is required to ensure that the direction of a government is the right one. In this the US media has failed, and the editorial line taken must surely be questioned.
It's been clear for some time that the US networks have just unquestioningly supported the march towards war, and now that questions are being asked about validity of the reasons for invading Iraq the issue has got to be raised as to why the US TV networks weren't there and asking the right questions when it mattered.
It seems to me to be another clear sign of the excessively deferrential stance the US media takes with the Administration. Support the country after 9/11, certainly, but when it comes to war, a probing, investigative and critical eye is required to ensure that the direction of a government is the right one. In this the US media has failed, and the editorial line taken must surely be questioned.
20040306
HAMs
I tune in to the local HAM repeater from time to time. This essentially allows local amateur radio operators to rebroadcast what they're saying through a far higher powered and prominently located transmitter than with their home kit. Particularly in this area where hills, fells and mountains block much line-of-sight communication, it's common to hear two HAMS chatting away on the repeater from two locations between which VHF contact would normally be impossible. One may be near Windermere, the other down Blackpool way, for instance.
Yesterday I heard the first conversation on the repeater in a while. I suppose the random times I tune in aren't always favoured by HAMs, and many use the repeater to chat when they're on their way home. (I wonder if the new hands-free legislation has put pay to this?) In any case, on this occasion one must have been based around Alston way, as he was recounting having his transmittions unintentionally being re-broadcast via Great Dun Fell, and was complaining about a new radar installed which was interfering with much of the VHF comms he normally would listen to.
This is fairly interesting as far as HAM comms go, as I believe legislation prevents discussion of anything topical or juicy in nature. By the sounds of it most of the local crowd were heading to a HAM 'do' today in Blackpool - a flea market thing as far as I could tell. It made me wonder how many of the HAMs actually meet up with the various they speak to.
At least when chatting to someone in the same region there's a decent chance of ending up at the same do, or having a get together. I wonder if I'll ever seen many of the people I chat to on the internet.
Yesterday I heard the first conversation on the repeater in a while. I suppose the random times I tune in aren't always favoured by HAMs, and many use the repeater to chat when they're on their way home. (I wonder if the new hands-free legislation has put pay to this?) In any case, on this occasion one must have been based around Alston way, as he was recounting having his transmittions unintentionally being re-broadcast via Great Dun Fell, and was complaining about a new radar installed which was interfering with much of the VHF comms he normally would listen to.
This is fairly interesting as far as HAM comms go, as I believe legislation prevents discussion of anything topical or juicy in nature. By the sounds of it most of the local crowd were heading to a HAM 'do' today in Blackpool - a flea market thing as far as I could tell. It made me wonder how many of the HAMs actually meet up with the various they speak to.
At least when chatting to someone in the same region there's a decent chance of ending up at the same do, or having a get together. I wonder if I'll ever seen many of the people I chat to on the internet.
20040302
End of an era
Today at the age of 95, after 58 years and an amazing 2,869 programmes, Alistair Cooke retires as presenter of Letter from America, the world's longest speed radio programme. Few can have assisted trans-atlantic understanding so much as Cooke's weekly 15 minute analysis of the events in America from such a insightful and unique perspective.
Find full coverage on the BBC News website.
Find full coverage on the BBC News website.
20040229
Radio Aum Shinrikyo
It must be coming up for 10 years since I heard this station on the radio. I vaguely recall hearing it on mediumwave via Russia, and a quick search on Google shows that the station was on 1494khz back in 1994. I don't recall much about the broadcast - I assume it wasn't fantastically listenable in that I believe I only ever listened to the broadcast once, however it was truly bizarre, and naturally rather shocking, to discover the following year that the people behind a programme I'd listened to were also behind the gas attacks on the Tokyo subway.
I'd long since forgotten of any motive for these attacks by the group, if indeed any were ever discovered. However the sentencing of Aum's leader this week has cast the attention of the media once more upon the group. It seems, as with terrorists the world over, that it is those disillusioned with the state of things around them who take to such extreme actions. Curiously, the quality of life of those in Japan is generally high, yet still the stresses and nature of the Japanese capitalist culture nevertheless proved too much for some to handle.
I wonder how differently news of the Aum attacks would have been received around the world had they occurred in 2004 instead of 1994...
I'd long since forgotten of any motive for these attacks by the group, if indeed any were ever discovered. However the sentencing of Aum's leader this week has cast the attention of the media once more upon the group. It seems, as with terrorists the world over, that it is those disillusioned with the state of things around them who take to such extreme actions. Curiously, the quality of life of those in Japan is generally high, yet still the stresses and nature of the Japanese capitalist culture nevertheless proved too much for some to handle.
I wonder how differently news of the Aum attacks would have been received around the world had they occurred in 2004 instead of 1994...
20040228
The power of the media
A documentary programme shown yesterday 'Sex, Lies & Michael Aspel' told the until now hidden story of how mild-mannered BBC presenter was the secret father of the likes of Spice Girl Mel B and Danniella Westbrook. The fact that my parents initially took the programme to be a true documentary, although it was actually a spoof, reflects the real power of the media. Although benign in this example, when the vast majority of people rely on the reports in national television, radio and websites to inform themselves about issues of the day, is it any wonder that media outlets can so easily be turned to malevolent ends by governments?
Even in the mainstream Western media governments can manipulate public opinion by encouraging certain evidence to be reported: the imminent risk to British interests in Cyprus by Iraq, to give a recent example. Such stories receive considerable coverage in the media at the time, but when the government decides to stop endorsing this evidence, who notices? Yet how many people keep on believing the original report, as they've not happen to catch the little coverage of the correction, if indeed there has been any? Democracy requires informed opinion to function successfully, but how accurately informed is public opinion in practice?
Even in the mainstream Western media governments can manipulate public opinion by encouraging certain evidence to be reported: the imminent risk to British interests in Cyprus by Iraq, to give a recent example. Such stories receive considerable coverage in the media at the time, but when the government decides to stop endorsing this evidence, who notices? Yet how many people keep on believing the original report, as they've not happen to catch the little coverage of the correction, if indeed there has been any? Democracy requires informed opinion to function successfully, but how accurately informed is public opinion in practice?
20040212
Updates
Following around a month without updates, much of the World Media section of the website have been updated - in particular the links to station websites.
I got a free program with a PC magazine that offers to build a database based website, which I might give a go if I can find the chance. One problem with trying to maintain a sizable website using static HTML pages is that any changes in designs or even just sections means a lot of work. Blogs in a way represent just one of the developments available in making websites easy to update.
I got a free program with a PC magazine that offers to build a database based website, which I might give a go if I can find the chance. One problem with trying to maintain a sizable website using static HTML pages is that any changes in designs or even just sections means a lot of work. Blogs in a way represent just one of the developments available in making websites easy to update.
20040128
Hutton findings
It's been a little too long since I last put something in this blog, but today is certainly the day for it. Lord Hutton piles the criticism on the BBC and finds the government whiter than white. But is the whiteness from today's events actually from the whitewash of Hutton's findings? One guest on a radio debate today noted than none of these Law Lord reports over the years have ever produced a negative finding on the government. So how much creedence should we pay it? It's already cost the BBC Chairman Gavin Davis his job, and it will very nicely get Blair off the hook when the calls for real scrutiny are high.
Blair will now play on the newly strengthened honesty of his character, when in reality he has broken election pledges on tax rises, University fees, and of course the whole torrid affair over Iraq. Although I loathe to agree with the man, Michael Howard was correct when he stated in the Commons that the people will decide at the end of the day.
Blair will now play on the newly strengthened honesty of his character, when in reality he has broken election pledges on tax rises, University fees, and of course the whole torrid affair over Iraq. Although I loathe to agree with the man, Michael Howard was correct when he stated in the Commons that the people will decide at the end of the day.
20040103
Go Digital blog
If you're a fan of 'Go Digital' on the BBC World Service you might be interested to know that the presenter Bill Thompson has his own blog which features additional technology news that can't be squeezed into the radio programme.
20040101
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